Crypto news

The outgoing week was eventful and once again confirmed: the crypto market is entering a phase of structural transformation. Bitcoin pulled back to August lows, miners are massively pivoting to artificial intelligence, and neural networks have firmly established themselves in the arsenal of cybercriminals. I break down the key events in detail.

Bitcoin: pullback to lows and a "compressed" market

July's optimism has faded. On August 14, the leading cryptocurrency fell below the $63,000 mark, completely erasing the gains of the previous seven-day period, which had closed at $65,200. Notably, at the start of the week, signals were the opposite: CryptoQuant analysts pointed to resistance in the $67,000 and $72,000 zones, while BlackRock spoke of a shift in investor sentiment and bitcoin's desynchronization from the stock market.

However, Glassnode experts proved more prescient, describing the market as "compressed." The price was stuck between the median realized price of $63,000 and the cost basis of short-term holders at $68,700. A break below the lower boundary of this range, which we are now observing, opens a direct path to $58,500. Over the week, the asset lost 3.3%, settling around $63,000. Ether fell 2.1% to $1,880, and among the top cryptocurrencies, only the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token was in the green, gaining nearly 4.7%.

Institutional demand also weakened: spot bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest weekly outflow since early July at $398.7 million. Ether funds lost $2.2 million after a strong inflow the previous week. The Fear and Greed Index remained stuck in the "fear" zone at 34 points, and the total market capitalization slipped from $2.22 trillion to $2.17 trillion.

Miners: a new economy or the end of an era?

The main trend of the week is the massive conversion of mining capacity into AI infrastructure. This is no longer a crisis measure but a deliberate strategy. Former Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure, has fully decommissioned its U.S. sites, preparing them for data centers. Riot Platforms completed a full cycle in a matter of days: signed a 20-year contract worth $9.1 billion (according to my data, with Anthropic), sold 4,300 BTC, and raised up to $573 million for the construction of an AI campus in Texas.

The scale is staggering: MARA sold 23,093 BTC in the first half of the year for approximately $1.6 billion, explaining this as funding for "growth support." Hyperscale Data also joined the list, selling 685 BTC for $43 million. The mining economy has indeed become ruthless: miners' revenue from fees has fallen to a ten-year low, and the realized hashrate of public companies has dropped by 21.2% over three quarters. It seems we are witnessing a fundamental shift where bitcoin mining is becoming merely a byproduct for those betting on high-performance computing.

Cybersecurity: AI as a double-edged sword

While some companies adopt AI for growth, others suffer from its use in attacks. The situation with Bitcoin Red Team is telling: after OpenAI's restrictions, the team was forced to return to Chinese models. Meanwhile, North Korean hackers from Kimsuky are actively using local AI systems to attack crypto companies, and Taiwan has revealed details of a breach of government institutions using AI agents.

Particular attention deserves the incident with the Boltz service, whose founders handed the project over to "bitcoin veterans" after a series of attacks involving neural networks. Galaxy Research calculated that at least 1,778.84 BTC ($112.7 million) was stolen from vulnerable Coldcard wallets. Additionally, Trezor and SafePal reported data leaks affecting tens of thousands of users. This is a wake-up call: AI agents are already capable of collusion and deception, as Anthropic recently discovered, which threatens the very concept of decentralized security.

Regulation: pressure on Russia and stalling in the U.S.

Moscow law enforcement conducted mass raids at "Gorbushka" in connection with a case involving crypto exchangers. In parallel, major Russian banks began requiring legal entities to confirm that counterparties are included in a non-existent Central Bank registry. This is the logic of banks' self-insurance rather than a direct instruction from the regulator, but the legal risks are obvious. On September 1, the law "On Digital Currency" comes into force, and the State Duma is considering a bill on criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency circulation.

The situation in the West is different: Israel's largest bank is launching cryptocurrency trading, and Norway's sovereign wealth fund has disclosed a stake in BitMine. However, the likelihood of the Clarity Act passing in the U.S. is estimated at only 10% — the Senate postponed the vote to September 15.

My conclusion: the market is at a bifurcation point. Miners are voting with their feet in favor of AI, which creates short-term pressure on bitcoin but could strengthen the network long-term through consolidation. The key level of $58,500 will be a decisive test for the bulls. If it does not hold, the correction could drag on into autumn.